Cancer detection rates double

The NHS breast screening programme is detecting nearly twice as many cancer cases as it did 10 years ago, according to a new report.

Figures from the independent organisation the NHS Information Centre show that the programme detected nearly 14,200 cases in 2008-09, almost double the number in 1998-99.

Of the cancers it detected last year, just over 11,200 (79.1%) were invasive — the most serious type.

More than half of the invasive cancers (52%) were less than 15 mm in size and not detectable by hand.

In the North West, 226,188 women aged 50-70 were screened in 2008-09.

A total of 1,700 (7.5%) had cancer, with 665 (2.9%) less than 15mm in size.

Findings from the report also show that around 2.3 million women (aged 45 and over) were invited for screening, an increase of 52.9% from 1998-99 when 1.5 million women were invited.

Of those invited, around 1.8 million women were screened, an increase of 43.9% from 1998-99 when 1.2 million women were screened.

Coverage (where a test has been carried out in the last three years) among women aged 53-70 was 76.5%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the previous year.

In Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton coverage also rose slightly from 71% in 2008, to 74.2% in 2009.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: “By picking up increasing numbers of breast cancer cases, the programme is helping to save the lives of many women each year.

“Screening helps detect cancers at an early stage.

“This enables earlier intervention and helps save lives.”